| THE 1ST GLASS TEMPLE IN THE WORLD JOHOR BAHRU, JOHOR, MALAYSIA. INTRODUCTION Arulmigu Sri Raja Kaliamman Temple is known to be one of the oldest Hindu temple in Johor Bahru. The temple is located at No.22 Lorong 1, Jalan Tebrau , 80100 Johor Bahru, Johor , Malaysia . It is only a distance of 1 km from the heart of Johor Bahru town. This temple is associated with the worship of Mother Kali as the presiding deity and observes strictly vegetarian. HISTORY This temple exists since 1922 on the land which was given to the Indian community, by the Sultan of Johore. In the early years, there was only a small hut on the given land for worship. In 1989, Mr S. Sinnathamby, a teacher by profession and the present temple chairman took over the management of the temple from his father, Mr. Sivasamy, who was then the temple chairman. He also conducted pooja at the temple [priest] tough he has no special form of initiation from a qualified guru. He believes Mother Kali is everything for him. He initiated to build a temple for Mother Kali. He struggled 7 years for the construction of the temple but with the grace and blessing of Mother Kali, he successfully completed the temple and had its first 'Maha Kumbabiabishegam' consecration ceremony on 25.8.1996. He continued his journey to serve Mother Kali. He is a sample, for that devotion and sincerity would more than compensate for any kind of formal knowledge. His description of Kali is beyond the figure we see. This spiritual luminary developed a strong thirst to realize the divine Supreme Being at a very early age. He later became a GURU. He taught devotees according to the way he viewed the 'divine'. People approach him for help, found solace and solutions for their problems regardless of their religion, caste, race or language. NEW PHRASE OF THE TEMPLE- AFTER 12 YEARS 'GLASS TEMPLE ' The idea to build the glass temple derived from Guru's trip to Bangkok . As he was travelling in a tuk-tuk, he noticed shimmering from a distance of 2 km. The tuk-tuk driver informed him, that it was a 'watt' (temple). He requested the driver to take him over there. He was amazed with the glass art work done at some parts of the watt. He believed this glass work will astonish and dazzle visitors. In fact, this temple is dedicated as a symbol of love to Mother Kali. He strongly believes that this temple will not only attract the local but also people all over the world to get the bliss of Mother Kali. The present temple signifies, 1. Glass Work 95% of the temple interior is done with glass work. Highly reflective mosaics of coloured glasses decorate the walls, pillars, ceiling of the temple and the Raja Gopuram.. There are 7 colours of glasses used for the total artwork. The glasses are imported from Thailand , Japan and Belgium . There are more than 1 million pieces of glasses placed all over the temple. The artwork is done in a very fine and creative way where one will observe symbols such as 'namam', 'swastika', shiva lingam, Mahameru and 'Sri Chakra'. This breathtaking work was done by skilled laboures from Myanmar . The floor of the temple is paved with granite. The temple is also fully airconditioned as to cater devotes current needs. 2. The Rutraksha Beads [Holy beads] More than 300, 000 Rudraksha beads are attached on the walls in the Lord Shiva's shrine. Those beads are specially imported from Nepal . Rudraksha is known for purification and have the ability to absorb the mantras which cast positive energy. Devotees are allowed to perform their own abishegam and offer prayers to Lord Shiva. 3. Guru and Saints There are 8 white marble statues of guru and saint placed at the temple pillars. Each of the statues are 4 feet tall and they are imported from Vietnam . The statues are of Bhagawan Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, Sathya Sai Baba, Sirdhi Baba, Swami Ragavendra, Ramalingga Adigalar, Jesus Christ and Gauthama Buddha. The statues are placed at this temple with the concept that guru [enlightend person] is important to every one and all of them are equally same as messenger of God and as an appreciation for their great role to guide people all over the world. 4. Marble Statue of Divine Mother Kali This statue is 12 feet tall and known to be the tallest marble statue in Malaysia . Her posture described terror of destruction with the reassurance of motherly tenderness. She is the universal mother and seen as a great protector. 5. Circle of Life - Statue This statues indicate various stages in life; [from birth to death. They are placed at the interior potion of temple facing the main entrance. Birth, growth, reproduction and death are natural stages in man kind but the actual purpose of birth is to serve God. 6. Other Deities The shrine of Vinayagar, Murugan, Vengadachelapathi and Periachi amman are also placed at the temple. There are also 'panchaloha' statue of Thillai Kali and Dhatatriya for performance of Paurnami and Ammavasai prayes. 7. Glass coated chariot Glass work is also done on the temple chariots [temple on wheels]. The chariots are driven out through the streets in Johor Bahru town during the annual festival of Chitra Paurnami. 8. Social Service Nyana Yutham Foundation ( 1503 - 07 - JHR ) Youth are the future of a country. Therefore, enthusiasm and encouragement must be generated among them. Realizing this, our Guru, Sri Bhagawan Sittar, stood up with the mission to fight the social ills among our youth. Spiritual awareness among our youth will prevent them from getting engaged with unnesesary social ills. Therefore, Nyana Yutham Foundation was launched on 6th October 2001. We are conducting free services which includes divine Classes for students above 7, tuition for UPSR, PMR, SPM and STPM, motivation camps, charitable activities, sports, Leadership Program and Yoga Lessons. MAHA KUMBABISHEGAM The temple "Maha Kumbabishegam" (Consecration ceremony) will be held in a grand manner. The details are : Date : 25-10-2009 (Sunday) Time : 10.30am-11.30am DONATIONS / CONTRIBUTIONS: The total cost to built the temple is estimated RM3 million. The temple is meeting its final phase of completion at the moment. We still need another RM1 Million for our Grand Opening Ceremony, for the road construction and others. Donations can be made by, cheque / Cash payments : ARULMIGU SRI RAJAKALIAMMAN TEMPLE BUILDING FUND [ CIMB BANK ] Account Number ; 0130 - 0004091- 051 For Further Informations, kindly contact us at: Arulmigu Sri RajaKaliamman Temple @ Nyana Yutham Foundation No, 22 Lorong 1, Jalan Tebrau, 80100 Johor Bahru. srirajakaliamman@yahoo.com Temple : 07- 2245152 Secretary : 016-7570146- Kavietha ( kamalita1005@yahoo.com ) | 
No comments:
+Grab this
Post a Comment